The WAR Trilogy: Part Two-Why
by Ruby
Summary: The sequel to Remembrance. Reilly had a daughter she never knew...


Author's note: Warning! I use swearing in this. Lots of it. Also, I advise you pay attention to the time, date, and place at the beginning of each section. They're realy important.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
_  
Three women...three generations...and the war that destroyed them all. _ ****

The WAR Trilogy-Part Two ****

Why

_I stared into the sky. It was dark out. I could see the stars through the clear, plastic dome.   
There was one star that was brighter than all the others. It was the only one that could be seen from anywhere in the solar system. _Alpha Centari_.   
A chill ran up my spine. Someone else, far away, was also staring at that star.   
I could feel her. I could almost hear her.   
Reilly...   
I was six.   
_

May 13, Year 292: Base Alpha Training One-lecture room

Reja leaned back in the hard chair and listened to the voice of her trainer.   
"One of your weapons is the ability to morph. But to use it effectively, you must be able to morph quickly and keep an accurate assessment of time."   
She had already acquired those skills. She was a 'cassie'. That's what people who were naturally good morphers were called. Most thought the term was named for someone with those talents, but no one knew for sure.   
The lecture ended and Reja gathered her things to go to Weaponry and practice.   
"Reja!"   
She turned back to her trainer.   
"Yes, sir?"   
He handed her a disk. "You are to take this to Breeder Lab 5 at Base Alpha Psi Two."   
She took it. "Yes, sir." 

__

May 15, Year 292: Base Alpha Psi Two-breeder wing

The Breeder at Lab 5 was expecting the disk. Her name was Lara.   
"What's your name?"   
"Reja."   
She saw the insignia on her uniform. "Animorph?"   
"In training."   
"Not for long. How old are you?"   
"Ten. My promotion is in seven months."   
"Not often I get to meet the kids I breed."   
"You bred me?"   
"Yes. I remember you because your parentage was so unusual."   
"Who were my parents?"   
"Donors, Reja, donors."   
"Who?"   
"You know I can't tell you."   
"Why not?'   
"I shouldn't. You're not old enough to understand. I suppose they haven't given you the manual."   
"What manual?"   
"All the rules and regulations of being an Animorph."   
"Is there a rule saying you can't tell me who my donors were?"   
"No. But what difference would it make if you knew?"   
"Are they dead?"   
Lara pulled up a file. "Your egg donor is."   
"Who was she?"   
"Reilly. An Animorph."   
"My father?"   
"Jashel. A scientist."   
"Is he alive?"   
"Yes."   
"Where is he?"   
"I can't tell you that. It's confidential."   
"Well, what makes me so unusual?"   
"One of your donor was a civilian. Usually, when we breed Animorphs, the donors are both Animorphs."   
"Why's that?"   
"Animorphs are strong, agile, intelligent, brave. They past those traits to their offspring. We look for those qualities in future Animorphs. We breed them to be better Animorphs."   
"I was breed to be an Animorph? And nothing else?"   
"Most Animorphs are."   
"Not all?"   
"Some are orphaned. Some civilians give them to us."   
"Why would they do that?"   
"For the sake of humanity."   
"Thank you for telling me."   
Lara searched Reja's eyes. "You're not going to look for him, are you?"   
She did not answer.   
"Don't. Things are this way for a reason. They have been this way for a long time, so it must be a good reason."   
"I want to know."   
"He doesn't know you exist. He wouldn't care."   
"_I_ care."   
"You can't think that way. You're an Animorph."   
"Not yet. Maybe never."   
Lara stared at her. "Good luck, then. Perhaps, this is for the best."   
_  
I did look for him. My father.   
I knew his name, I knew his Occupation.   
And I found him. _ __

January 20, Year 292: Base Alpha Delta Five

Reja saluted to the guard at the base entrance. "I'm looking for Jashel."   
He noticed the Animorphs insignia on her uniform. To the untrained eye, the insignia of an Animorph and an Animorph in training look the same. The guard was not an Animorph. He didn't know the difference.   
"Weapon Design Lab 12."   
Reja nodded sharply to him and headed inside.   
Lab 12 was on Level 9.   
She paused before the door, then pressed the telecom. "Jashel?"   
"One moment."   
The door opened.   
Before her stood a twenty-something year old man with black hair and piercing green eyes. "Come in."   
Reja stepped inside and the door swished close. There were mixtures everywhere. Jashel led her to the back office where there were two chairs. Amazingly, empty.   
"Who are you?"   
"Reja. I'm an Animorph."   
"No, your not. You haven't finished training yet."   
"Sharp eye."   
"Why are you here."   
"I was looking for you."   
"Because...?"   
"I'm your daughter."   
"What?! No, way. I don't have a daughter."   
"You don't know about me, but I am your daughter."   
"How?"   
"I was bred. And you were my donor."   
"I never donated."   
"You must have. They had to have got it from somewhere."   
"Wait. There was once, for a medical update. But not for a Breeder program."   
"They don't need your permission. They thought you were appropriate and got it from the medics."   
"Damn those bastards."   
"Father, I-"   
"Don't call me father."   
"Why not."   
"I'm not your father."   
"Biologically, you are!"   
"Why did you come here? Why did you stir things up? It would have been much better for both of us if you never knew. If I never knew."   
Reja stared for a long time. "I wanted to know was love was. Parents are supposed to love their kids."   
"Not anymore. Because nobody has parents. Not in the real meaning of the word."   
"You don't want me."   
Jashel didn't deny it.   
"I shouldn't have come here."   
"You're right. You shouldn't have."   
She got up to leave.   
"Where are you going?"   
"Back to base."   
"Don't."   
"Why not?"   
"The Animorphs are not as great as you think."   
"What do you mean?"   
"You don't know. You don't how bad it will be. All you do is fight, and kill. You won't be a person anymore, you'll be a machine."   
"How would you know?"   
"I know."   
Reja left without a word. 

__

On January 1, Year 293, I became an official Animorph. They gave me the manual. I read it the first night. It was long. Very long. There were so many rules. But they all said the same thing. What Jashel had told me. When you become an Animorph, you become a machine.

__

January 18, Year 293: Base Alpha Theta One-evaluation wing

"45 seconds."   
"Shit. I could do better."   
"Not bad. Average. Try again."   
Reja closed her eyes and focused. When she opened them again, she was no longer human.   
"32."   
< See if my demorphing is faster.> Reja closed her eyes once more.   
She stood up and stretched. "Well?"   
"27."   
"Good."   
"How's your shot?"   
"Okay. Better than average."   
"Show me."   
I picked up the gun and aimed.   
TWEE!   
My trainer checked the target. "Accurate. Now, speed."   
I shot of 50 blasts in rapid succession.   
"All in range. Could be a closer to the center. Go to infield training."   
"Yes, sir."   
  
The hot sun beared down on her back. She didn't sweat much. That was good. She wouldn't lose so much moisture.   
The foot lashed out at her head. She was prepared.   
Within five seconds, her attacker was unconscious on the ground.   
The target was still 100 meters away.   
"Shit."   
There was 6 traps surrounding the target. She saw them immediately.   
She was about to leave her hiding place when she remembered. It couldn't be this easy.   
She picked up a rock and threw it at the closest trap. Hard.   
The trap sprung. She noticed the other trap hidden beneath it. So that was the trick.   
There were six traps. One on each of the ways to the target. And under each obvious trap was a cleverly hidden one.   
She slinked over to the trap she had just disarmed. Close enough to see the one underneath, but not close enough to spring it.   
"Shit."   
This one was pressure and heat sensitive. Very sensitive.   
She couldn't get close enough to disarm it without setting it off.   
At least, not as a human.   
She morphed a lizard. Being cold-blooded would fool the heat sensor.   
There were 10 wires, and only one would disable it. The rest would set it off.   
She sank her teeth into a wire and yanked. Hard.   
Deactivated.   
She demorphed and cautiously ran for the target. There were no more obstacles. But she knew better than to run at top speed. _Never_ underestimate the enemy.   
Reja slammed her hand on the pad and it scanned her DNA.   
"Cadet 77, you have finished training simulation 89003."   
She flashed out.   
"3 minutes, 47 second. You're the first today to break the four-minute mark. Go to Office 8 for your Assignment."   
"Yes, sir." 

__

January 18, Year 293: Base Alpha Theta One-Assignment wing

"You're going to Base Gamma Sigma One."   
"Sir, that's on the front line!"   
"What did you expect? Now move."   
"Yes, sir." The cadet left. 

__

April 9, Year 293: Base Gamma Sigma One-communications wing

"Awww, shit!"   
"Watch your back, Reja!"   
She blasted off 20 or so rounds. "My arm hurts like hell."   
Lest took a peek. "No wonder. It's all blasted off."   
"Shit. Good thing it wasn't my right arm."   
"Damn."   
"What?"   
"I'm out of rounds."   
"Shit! I'm running low too."   
"We need reinforcements."   
"You get the Taxxons. I'll take those Horks over there."   
"All eight of them?"   
"Let's hope I don't lose another arm."   
Reja jumped over the wall they were behind. "Take that, you damn slugs!"   
One down, seven to go.   
SLASH.   
SLASH.   
SLASH.   
"Don't you Yeerks ever learn?"   
SLASH.   
SLASH.   
SLASH.   
"You don't."   
SLASH.   
"Mess"   
SLASH.   
"With."   
SLASH.   
"The."   
SLASH.   
"Animorphs."   
Reja wiped off the blood that stained her uniform. "Anymore?"   
"Nope. Took care of the rest of them."   
"Duck!"   
"No! No shoot! Me give up!" The Controller threw up his hands.   
A voice from training hissed in Reja's head. _"Take no prisoners!" _  
"Sorry." She said sarcastically. "It's in the rules."   
BANG!   
Reja lowered her gun and Lest stood up again.   
"I thought you said you took care of the rest of them."   
He turned around and saw the dead Hork. "Nice shot."   
Reja glanced around. They had quite a few bodies to dispose of.   
Lest wiped off his blade.   
In the distance, the clean-up crew was coming. The battle here was over. 

__

April 10, Year 293: Base Alpha Seven-medical wing

Reja leaned back against the med-bed.   
Lest walked in. "How's the arm?"   
"Fine, after I morphed."   
"We did a good job."   
"So?"   
"We could have saved the whole base."   
"So?"   
"We got promoted."   
"So?"   
"To Corporal."   
"I don't want the stupid promotion. I don't deserve it."   
"Why not?"   
"What I did back there was wrong."   
"No it wasn't."  
"He surrendered."   
"He was a coward."   
"I killed him in cold blood."   
"It was probably a trap."   
"You don't know that."   
"Why are you like this?"   
"I'm sick of this! All this fighting, all this killing. I want out!"   
"You took a vow."   
"Then I'll break it!"   
"You can't quit the Animorphs!"   
"I can and I will."   
"I can't allow that."   
"What are you going to do about it?"   
"Don't you care about your honor? Your duty?"   
"Animorphs aren't supposed to care."  
Silence.   
Then, "We do what we have to."   
"I can't take this anymore!"   
"You have to."   
"I don't want to do this anymore! I don't want to be an Animorph!"   
"It's too late, Reja. You're one of us now. You can't quit. No one quits. When you join, you stay. For life."   
"I'm not staying."   
"Don't go crazy, Reja. You're too good to go crazy."   
"You don't care about me. I'm just another soldier who can fight."   
"I don't want you to go crazy."   
"So you want me to die?"   
"I want you to come to your senses."   
"I should have come to them a long time ago."   
"What do you mean?"   
"Jashel was right. Animorphs aren't people. They're machines."   
"Don't quit. You know what they'll do if you try."   
"Brainwash me? And ruin a perfectly good soldier?"   
"Better for them than to have Animorphs drop out like flies."   
"Hell."   
"Do what you want, but don't drag me into this. Remember, you're an Animorph." Lest left.   
"Not anymore. Never again." 

__

April 11, Year 293: Base Alpha One-Command Headquarters

_The general's coal black eyes stared into mine. "Is this some sort of joke."   
"I want to quit the Animorphs."   
He stared at me. He stared at me for a long time. "If you quit, you have to give us back all your weapons."   
"Okay."   
"Including the power to morph."   
"You can do that, sir?"   
"Yes. Just go into that room over there. I'll fill out the paperwork." _   
  
Reja blinked. She was looking at a steel roof.   
"She's awake."   
"What's going on?"   
"We just removed your power to morph."   
"What? Why?"   
"You asked to quit the Animorphs."   
"What? Why would I do that?"   
"You don't want to quit the Animorphs?"   
"Of course not. It's the best thing in the world."   
"Well then, welcome back."   
Reja sat up. "Yes, sir."   
"You do realize that since we have already removed your ability to morph, we can't give it back to you. You can no longer morph."   
"Yes, sir."   
"Dismissed." 

__

April 12, Year 293: Base Alpha One-temporary quarters

"Reja! You're back! I thought you quit!"   
"Well, I didn't."   
"How come?"   
"I guess I just changed my mind."   
"I told you this would happen."   
"What would happen?"   
"They brainwashed you!"   
"Don't be stupid, Lest. They didn't brainwash me."   
"Then why were so gone so long?"   
"Well, I said I wanted to quit, and they took away my power to morph, and then I realized how stupid I was acting and decided to stay in."   
"You mean you can't morph anymore?"   
"Yeah, but that's okay. I can still fight." 

__

December 17, Year 298: Command Headquarters-General Rato's office.

"You want to storm the Yeerk Head Base on Iktra?"   
"If we take the planet, we could win this war."   
"That's impossible."   
"If Iktra falls, then Sejorner will follow, then Lorax, Leera, the Hork world, the Taxxons...and the Yeerks. And the war ends."   
"How much would it take to storm Iktra?"   
"5,000,000."   
"That's half our troops. That's a fourth of the population."   
"I know."   
"Why so many?"   
"We control one continent, the Yeerks control the other. Their air defense system is too good. We can't penetrate it. So we're going on ground."   
"Their ships would massacre our troops."   
"We'll send some fighters in to distract them."   
"But?"   
"We estimate that we'll lose 9 out of every 10 Animorphs we send in."   
"Suicide mission?"   
"Those that live will take on Head Base. There are a few million Yeerks on that continent, about a million at Head Base. We'll be out number 2 to 1 when we get there."   
"You're asking me to send half my troops to their deaths?"   
"We can win this. Just at a high price."   
"How can I pay that price?"   
"Think of it this way. We've lost over ten billion to the War already. If this war doesn't end, we'll lose another ten. Now, would you rather pay four and a half million lives, or ten billion?" 

__

February 4, Year 299: Base Alpha One-Assignment wing

"Major Reja!"   
She turned. It was General Rato. The oldest Animorph ever. The head of command.   
"Sir!"   
"I need to speak with you."   
"Yes, sir?"   
"No one knows this yet, but we are preparing for the largest invasion in history."   
"Where?"   
"Iktra."   
"The other continent?"   
"Yes."   
"How?"   
"Underwater carrier will take us to the coast. We pile out, and launch a ground campaign."   
"Interesting idea."   
"It worked before."   
"When?"   
"Over three hundred years ago. During something called World War Two."   
"What's my position?"   
"You're in command of Team A-7. That's a hundred Animorphs, including yourself."   
"Yes, sir."   
"I need you to carry out a special assignment."   
"Yes, sir?"   
General Rato leaned over and whispered it into her ear.   
"Yes, sir." 

__

March 29, Year 299: Command Headquarters-General Rato's office.

General Rato glanced trough the plans once more. "This better work."   
"Sir?" A Colonel walked in. "General Walker here to see you, sir."   
"Let him in."   
Walker strode in. "How are the plans coming?   
"Good, good."   
"When's D-Day?"   
"Not for a couple of months. They're in the winter season right now. Not a good time to attack."   
"June?"   
"That's what I was thinking."  


__

May 31, Year 299: Base Theta One-command wing

Reja paced the area in front of her troops. "In five days, we will deploy. This is the biggest mission any of us has ever undertaken. We are going to go in there and do our job. Understood?"   
"Yes ma'am!"  
"Good. Dismissed."   
Lest stayed to talk with his comrade.   
"What is it?"   
"Tell me, Reja. What's the secret?"   
"What do you mean?"   
"I've seen the other mission briefs. They all have a phase one. Where's ours."   
"Lest. You have your orders. I have mine. Don't question them."  
"I just want to know what your orders are."   
"Have you ever heard of the Quantum virus?"   
"You're going to use that there?"   
"That's not what I said, was it?"   
"My god." 

__

15:55, June 5, Year 299: Iktra Ocean-Sub 973-46, two miles underwater

Reja stared at the vast ocean surrounding her. "It's time."   
"Grab your gear! We're deploying in five minutes."   
Reja flicked on the holomap. "If you get separated, head to sector 26-09. Check your weapons, your suit, and remember, you're an Animorph."   
Reja pulled on her oxygen mask.   
Lest looked at her. "Ready?"   
"Always am."   
"I go first with Ansk and Wer. You wait two minutes, bring Group One. The rest will follow two minutes after that."   
"Yes, ma'am."   
Reja opened the hatch. The force field kept the water from coming in, but they would simply walk out.   
"Ansk! Wer! Let's move."   
"Rej!" Lest called.   
"Yeah?"   
"Good luck." 

__

17:06, June 5, Year 299: Northern Iktra Ocean-one mile of coast

Reja poked her head out from below the water surface. Immediately, Dracons rained down on them.   
"Shit! Ansk, Wer! Stay down! Swim under! Head for the coast!"   
Reja dived back under. She could see the others swimming up."   
"Head for the coast! They've got airships! They're less accurate underwater!"   
Reja checked her oxygen. _10 minutes_. She was about a mile from the coast. She should be able to swim that far in ten minutes. Maybe.   
"Captain!"   
"What?"   
"Brack's been hit."   
"Shit. How bad?"   
"Level 5."   
"Tell him to swim back to the sub."   
"He's unconscious."   
"Leave him."   
"What?"   
"Tell the sub to send someone to pick him up."   
"I'm not leaving him here to die!"   
"Damnit, Lest! You have nine minutes of oxygen left. You have to make it to the coast."   
"He's one of your troops! Don't you care if he lives for dies?"   
"Animorphs don't care."   
"Reja..."   
"_Colonel _Reja. You leave him and get to the coast. That's an order."   
There was a long pause. "Yes, ma'am."   
Reja turned and swam for the coast. Everyone followed. 

__

17:16, June 5, Year 299: Northern Iktra Beach-Sector 5

Reja dragged herself out of the water. The coast was already littered with bodies. The first deployment had already passed through the area. She had been part of the second.   
Reja glanced back and saw her troops come out of the bloody water. The blood was running in rivers down the sloped beach. When it reached the water, the water turned even redder. From her vantage point, the whole ocean looked red.   
The constant fire of Dracons and L-5s filled the air. She was already used to the noise.   
Reja picked herself up and ran. Everyone was running. All the way down the coast, Animorphs were streaming across the beach. Every few seconds, someone would fall.   
Reja spotted the post on the cliff where the beach ended.   
"Take the post out!"   
Dracons sizzled the air around her. Reja didn't bother to avoid the bodies as she made her way up the beach. She merely stepped over them, and sometimes on them. 

__

17:41, June 5, Year 299: Yeerk Iktra Base 12-command room

"Colonel. The base is secure. All the Yeerks have been executed."   
"Good."   
"We've lost 31 so far. 14 wounded."   
"Tell them to morph."   
"Yes, ma'am. But not all of them are awake."   
"Then wake them."   
"Yes, ma'am."   
Reja was drenched in blood. Most of it wasn't hers. She had a few cuts and bruises, but they were nothing. She didn't even notice them.   
Nor did she pay any attention to the blood that splattered the base. As long as it didn't seep into the controls and render them useless, she was content.   
"We've counted 83 Yeerks dead in this base. They doubtless more on the beach."   
"Good. We'll a half-hour rest to regroup. Our next target is Base 49 in Sector 7."   
"Yes, ma'am."   
"Oh, and Wer."   
"Yes, ma'am?"   
"Expect more casualties." 

__

18:56, June 5, Year 299: Sector 7-Outside Yeerk Iktra Base 49

"Ahhhhhhhhhh!"   
"I'm hit!"   
"Fayt's down!"   
"Shit!"   
"Behind you!"   
"Over there!"   
"Get them!"   
"FIRE!"   
Reja winced. This was bad. Very bad. They had already lost three-fourths of the team and more were dying by the second.   
"Give it everything you've got. If we're going down, we're taking a hell of a lot of them with us!"   
The shooting intensified.   
Lest looked up briefly and saw it. The ship. The Bug fighter.   
He saw the Dracon beam aimed at them lance towards its target.   
A nanosecond after he comprehended what was about to happen, he tackled the one person he thought was worth saving to the ground. He protected her the only way he could: He covered her body with his.   
The Dracon beam struck its target with deadly accuracy. Every Animorph in Team A-7 died. All except for one. 

__

20:04, June 5, Year 299: Sector 7-Outside Yeerk Iktra Base 49

Reja moaned. She slowly opened her blood-crusted lids. A face floated in front of her vision.   
"You have to morph. Your injuries are too serious. You have morph now, or you'll die."   
A wave of dizziness hit her. She couldn't think. She couldn't understand. _  
Morph. Just morph. 'I know how to morph'_ Reja thought.   
The girl sighed with relief and the near-dead body in front of here began to change.   
An agonizing five minutes later, Reja was completely hawk. Still seemingly in a state of unconsciousness, she began to demorph.   
Reja opened her eyes and took a deep breath. She was glad to be alive.   
"Who are you."   
"Lieutenant Jayca. Team G-5."   
"Colonel Reja. Team A-7."   
"Thought you weren't going to make it there for a sec."   
"So did I."   
Jayca looked around at the bloody scene. "What happened here?"   
"We tried to take the base. We got hit with something from above. Probably a Dracon from a Bug."   
"We took the base. Everyone else is inside. It's still pretty much intact. Just a lot of bodies lying around."   
Reja grasped the hand that was offered to her and pulled herself up.   
For a moment, she simply stared at the bloodshed.   
"My god."   
"What is it?"   
"Look. Just look."   
Jayca looked.   
"What do you see?"   
"It's been a battle. Large casualties. Extensive damage."   
"How does it make you feel?"   
Jayca stared for a long time.   
"Bad. Real bad. I feel...guilty."   
"Exactly."   
"I'm an Animorph."   
"I know."   
"Animorph don't feel."   
"Yes we do. We just don't admit it." 

__

20:19, June 5, Year 299: Yeerk Iktra Base 49-command room

Jayca passed the list of names to Reja. "Forty-three out a hundred. The rest are dead. We're under your command now."   
"Even after I lost all my troops?"   
"That wasn't your fault. Besides, you have highest rank here. All our commanders are dead. For the last half-hour, I've been in command, and I'm only a Lieutenant."   
"Then you need a promotion."   
"Permission to speak freely, ma'am."   
"Go ahead."   
"You're weird. You're not like other commanders. You're not like other Animorphs."   
"I used to be."   
"Ma'am?"   
"I'm sure you've heard rumors that Command brainwashes those that try leave."   
"Yes, ma'am."   
"They're true. I was eleven when I tried to leave. And they brainwashed me. I never thought they'd do something like that."   
"Did it work?"   
"Oh, it worked alright. It worked so well I became one of the best Animorphs Command had. But you see, when you morph, DNA reasserts itself. Operations don't show up when you demorph. So they couldn't have me morphing. They told me I could morph anymore. That I had lost the ability. I believed them. Stupid me, huh? And then you come along. And you tell me to morph. And my mind's so screwed I actually listen to you. And when I opened my eyes, all that crap they did to my brain is gone. And I remember. And I know. I know all this killing is wrong." Reja laughed crazily. "So you see, you didn't just save my life. You saved my soul."   
They were interrupted by a young man with a com-pad.   
"For Colonel Reja."   
Reja took the pad and opened it. The face of General Rato stared back at her.   
"You're alive. Good."   
"Hello, sir."   
"Do you still have _Kata Fay_?"   
"Sir, I-"   
"Do you have it?"   
"Yes, sir."   
"You know your mission."   
"Sir, my troops are dead."   
"Then take G-5. They're your new troops." The screen went blank.   
"What's he talking about?" Jayca asked.   
"My mission."   
"What mission."   
"My troops and I...We were supposed to take out Head Base."   
"So?"   
"So now I have to take you guys and complete the mission."   
"You don't seem to want to."   
"I don't."   
"Why not?"   
"It's a suicide mission."   
"This entire war is suicide mission."   
"Listen to me. It we go in there, none of us are going to come out alive."   
"But we have to go."   
"I am not order my troops to theirs deaths!"   
"But those are our orders."   
"To hell with our orders." 

__

21:29, June 5, Year 299: Sector 3-heading east-southeast

The group marched at a rapid clip. So far, they had not been attacked by Bugs, but Reja knew their luck could not hold forever.   
"We're behind schedule. I was suppose to be there an hour ago."   
"It could be beneficial. More of the our troops have arrived there and they've probably taken out a lot of the base."   
"On the other hand, the Yeerks have had more time to send reinforcements."   
"Reja, what's the _Kata Fay_?"   
"Hmm?"   
"General Rato mentioned it. He asked you if you still had it."   
"It's a weapon."   
"What kind of weapon?"   
"A bomb."   
"What makes it so special."   
"It's a quantum bomb."   
"Quantum virus?"   
"Yes."   
"And you're supposed to release it Head Base, aren't you."   
"Yes."   
"But a quantum bomb can't distinguish between DNA patterns. It'll kill us all."   
"Don't you think I know that?"   
"Are you going to do it?"   
"Well, let's think of it this way. I can use it, and die, and kill half a million people and win this stupid war. Or, I don't use it, ruin my career and not have such a guilty conscience and let this war drag on. What do you think I should do?"   
"I don't know."  


__

22:56, June 5, Year 299: Sector 1-just outside Yeerk Iktra Head Base

"There's too many of them!"   
"Run!"   
"Get inside!"   
"Go around!"   
"Get the fuck out of here!"   
"Shit! We're surrounded!"   
Reja ducked and rolled a few meters closer to the entrance to Head Base. It would be safer in there. Most of the fighting was outside.   
Jayca pulled herself over, dragging a bloody leg.   
"Retreat!"   
There were gasps at the command. Animorphs never retreated.   
"Damnit! I said, RETREAT! Move it! Get out of the front line and get into the building!"   
Team G-5 finally obeyed Reja's orders. 

__

23:24, June 5, Year 299: Yeerk Iktra Head Base-hallway in command wing

"What the hell was that?" A young private demanded.   
"I gave an order. You follow it."   
"Animorphs don't retreat."   
"We have another mission to complete. If that means leaving a battle for others to fight, then so be it."   
"No! Making us back down was wrong!"   
"You have no right to question my orders."   
"I do when they're ludicrous!'   
"How old are you, kid?"   
"Eleven."   
"This your first battle?"   
"Yeah."   
"Then you've seen nothing yet. You know how many Yeerks I've killed?"   
"How many?"   
"653."   
The kid stared.   
"You know how many Animorphs I've lost under my command?"   
Silence.   
"412. Now, would you like me to add you to that list?"   
"My life is not my own. It belongs to the people in this war against evil. I fight for freedom. I-"   
"Don't give me none of the crap. I've heard it so many times I can recite it in my sleep. I _am_ an Animorph, you know. Don't you think I've memorized that?"   
"Arggghhhhh!"   
TWEE!   
Reja put her L-5 down again as the Hork-Bajir Controller fell to the ground, dead.   
"And one other thing. Always pay attention to where you're going." 

__

23:51, June 5, Year 299: Yeerk Iktra Head Base-command room

Reja sighed as she looked over the twenty or so bodies of Controllers in the room. They're blood had splattered all over her uniform which was already drenched in blood.   
All the walls were red, as if someone had came with a paintbrush and colored the walls. _  
But we did. We came and used L-5s to splatter the walls with blood_. Reja thought.   
Jayca walked over.   
"We need to barricade this place." Reja told her.   
"Why?"   
"The Yeerks will notice soon that this place is no longer in their control. This room is the most important place in the entire base. They'll try to take it back."   
"Gotcha."   
Jayca called out to the others and gave them orders.   
She turned back. "I've damage report."   
"Well?"   
"We took out 78 Yeerks inside. Over a hundred outside. It was too hard to keep count."   
"Our casualties?"   
"15. We had 9 wounded, but they've all morphed and they're okay."   
"Shit. I failed."   
"No you didn't. 15 out of 43? That's good. Anyone else would have lost everyone."   
"They were my responsibility."   
"Reja. They rest of us still alive. Don't give up on us."   
"I won't."   
"Good."   
Reja switched on her communicator and dialed up General Rato.   
"Sir?"   
"Where are you."   
"Head Base, sir. In the command room."   
"Good. You're in the right place."   
"Sir-"   
"Do you still have the _Kata Fay_?"   
"Yes, sir, but-"   
They were interrupted by loud banging on the entrance to the room.   
"Help! Let us in!" A voice screamed from outside.   
It was a _human_ voice. Not a Yeerk, an Animorph.   
Jayca moved to remove the barricades.   
Reja stopped her. "No."   
"What?"   
"It could be a trap."   
"Those are humans out there! Animorphs."   
"And there's a few hundred Yeerks ready to storm this place!"   
"You're just going to let them die?"   
"Believe it or not, I have a reason for this."   
"And what's that?"   
"Logic."   
Everyone waited silently as the dying screams outside faded.   
"I'm sorry." Reja whispered.   
"I thought you were different." Jayca hissed angrily. "I thought you cared."   
"I do."   
"Liar!"   
Everyone went back to what they were doing and Reja picked up her communicator.   
"What happened?"   
"A small...incident."   
"Well, what are you waiting for? Deploy the bomb."   
"Sir, I can't do that. There are twenty-eight other people in here."   
"I don't care. Do it."   
"Sir!"   
"Deploy the quantum bomb. That is a direct order."   
"Hell." With that, Reja switched her communicator off.   
Everyone stared at her in shocked silence. No one, _no one_ disobeyed Command.   
Reja looked at her watch. It was 00:00, June 6, Year 299. She wondered how long she had to live. _  
June 6_. The words ran in her head. There was something familiar about them. Something she had heard, or seen, or read. _June 6_._ D-Day_. 

__

01:40, June 6, Year 299: Yeerk Iktra Head Base-command room

Reja stared at the monitors. Each showed an area of the base. They all had the same scene: Bodies. Bodies and blood. Every once in awhile, a new exchange of fire would splatter the walls with fresh blood.   
Reja flicked on a com.   
"There's about fifty Yeerks headed for you from behind. They'll be there in five minutes."   
The Captain nodded, acknowledging her warning. He knew who she was, where she was. He knew she was trying to help. She had already saved his life twice in the past hour.   
Reja glanced at the other monitors. Action was slowing down. But the Yeerk reinforcements would soon come, and there would be more bloodshed.   
Movement!   
Reja took control of the Dracon cannon mounted outside and turned it towards her target. She watched as the troops in the distance advance.   
She magnified the view to aim.   
But the picture was not as she expected. They were not carrying Dracons. They were carrying L-5s. She recognized a few faces in the crowd. They weren't Yeerks, they were Animorphs. Reinforcements she had never expected to come. 

__

14:25, June 6, Year 299: Yeerk Iktra Head Base-temporary Animorphs base

Reja stared at the wall. It was covered in not-quite dry blood and it sickened her to look at it, but it was better than looking at the General in front of her.   
"You disobeyed a direct order from the head of Command."   
"Fuck you."   
His hand connected solidly with her face. Reja blinked back the stars that flashed in her left eye.   
"Show some respect, bitch."   
"Respect? You're telling me to respect some bastard who tells me to massacre half a million people?"   
He hit her again. "They're not people! They're Yeerks."   
"Why do you fight this stupid war? 300 years. 300 years and all we manage to do is lose more lives."   
"For freedom."   
"Bullshit." 

__

September 29, Year 299: Base Alpha One-detention center

Reja stared blankly at the ceiling, then the floor, then the wall. She remembered what the walls on Iktra looked like.   
"You have been accused of high treason against Command, knowingly helping the enemy which resulted in the loss of 5,000 Animorphs, and failure to obey orders. How do you plead?"   
"Not guilty."   
The Major snorted. "Yeah, right."   
"I saved everyone left alive on that base."   
"I don't buy it. Lock her up. C-7. Sentencing on November 26."   
She had lost everything. Her rank. Her power. Her freedom, what little she had. And now she was going to lose her life. But Reja didn't care. She was still trying to remember how to care. 

__

October 25, Year 299: Base Alpha One-detention cell C-7

"Hello, Reja."   
"Hello, father."   
He didn't object to the name.   
"Why are you here?"   
"I heard what you did."   
"I didn't do what they said I did."   
"I talked to Jayca."   
"What did she say?"   
"That she's sorry."   
"I don't want pity."   
"I'm sorry too. You are my daughter."   
"Little late for a family reunion."   
"At least you know the truth."   
"I care. That's why I didn't do it. I cared."   
"I know."   
"I'm not supposed to. We all know that."   
"Reja, I need to know. Who, who was the other donor?"   
"She's dead. She was an Animorph. Her name was Reilly."   
"Reilly? My god."   
"You knew her?"   
"I knew her."   
"Father?"   
"I loved her."   
"How?"   
"I meet her. She was so wonderful. And I had to give her up. When we said goodbye, she told me that we would meet again, one day. That she would invite me to her funeral. They did invite me. I didn't go. I didn't want to admit she was dead. My Reilly. And I never saw her again. Until today."   
Reja was confused.   
"I see her in you."   
"Father?"   
"Yes?"   
"Come to my funeral."   
There was a long pause. "I promise."   
"They're going to execute me. Make it public. Put on a show. Make an example."   
"I know."   
"I don't want to die like that."   
"What are you going to do?"   
"A need a favor of you."   
"Anything."   
"A knife. I need a knife." 

__

November 26, Year 299: Base Alpha One-detention cell C-7

_I had a lot of time to sit there and think, awaiting my sentancing. Rato told me the Iktra Invasion was based on something hundreds of years ago during 'World War Two'. So I looked it up. This base has a lot of records, and nobody pays attention to what I do. I found it. The Normandy Invasion. It was a lot like what we did, except we had much deadlier weapons. And our death toll was so much higher. Six and a half million dead. Almost all of the first five million sent in died. Maybe I was to blame for that. But there were two thousand troops in that base. Had I deployed the bomb, they would have all died. I screwed up the plan. By the time the next deployment of troops-three million-arrived, most of the population on the island should have been dead.   
But I didn't use the quantum bomb. Simply because I wasn't about to kill the twenty-eight people who trusted me with their lives.   
This war was wrong. This invasion was wrong. Exploding the Kata Fay would have been wrong. So had not using it been right? I don't know. I don't know anything anymore. _ __

December 15, Year 299: Base Alpha One-detention center

"Cadet 77, Reja. For high treason against Command, knowingly helping the enemy, which resulted in the loss of 5,000 Animorphs, and failure to obey orders, you are sentence to public execution on January 1, Year 300." 

__

December 20, Year 299: Base Alpha One-detention cell C-7

"I'm here."   
"Do you have it?"   
"I have a piece of Axtrillium in the shape of a knife. In about ten days, it will transmute into iron."   
"Thank you."   
He handed it to me. "It was the only way I could get through the sensors. That and all the guards are drunk celebrating the Victory at Octost."   
"Not very tight security, is it?"   
"They don't care if you die. Just that you don't escape."   
"I can't even morph. Some stupid shielding."   
"Do you want to escape?"   
She thought about that. "No. This world isn't worth living."   
"I agree with you there."   
"Why do we do this? Why do we fight? Why the War?"   
"It started with the Yeerks invading us. Trying to take us over. And we fought back. To preserve our freedom. Freedom was very important back then. It was the foundation our society was built on."   
"What went wrong?"   
"For years, the battle over Earth and the future of humans raged. Then, we finally drove the Yeerks off the planet. We didn't stop there. We continued to fight. Our objective had changed from defending ourselves to annihilating the entire Yeerk population. War's always been like that. You get involved more than you first intended."   
"Will it ever stop?"   
"Look at history. They stop. Eventually."   
"How do you live in a world like this?"   
"I remember that once, long ago, we had freedom. And we have it again. To be human, is to be free. We all need it. And we have it, one day."   
I smiled, for the first time in my life. "Father, tell people. Tell them I cared. Tell them they killed me because I cared. That I was the only Animorph who ever cared."   
"But one other did."   
"Who?"   
"Your mother."   
"Like mother, like daughter."   
"I love you, Reja."   
"I love you too, father."   
"Whatever you do, Reja. Don't ever give up."   
"I'll remember that, Father." Reja paused. "Will you do one more favor for me?"   
"Anything."   
"There is a girl. She's almost five now. Her name is Retribution. But I called her Ribu. Find her. Make sure she's okay."   
"Why? Who is she?"   
"Just find her." 

__

December 25, Year 299: Yeerk scout ship-holding bay

The ship moved in a slow orbit above the planet.   
The Yeerks were ecstatic. A new planet full of sentient creatures for them to infest.   
The Controller looked at the strange creature they had captured.   
A Leeran came over and passed the Controller a computer.   
The Controller skimmed through the report. Then he looked up once more and stared at the alien in the holding cell. *What are you?*   
The creature turned. < Hello. What do you have to sell? This ship? An arm? An internal organ? Or perhaps you would like to buy something? I have->   
*Shut up!* The Controller's eyes blazed angrily. *Infest him.*   
Two Hork-Bajir guards pulled him to the Yeerk Pool.   
They watched in amazement as a gray slug slithered out of the creature's head.   
The Yeerks expected the host to start screaming, or at the very least stand up, but it did not move.   
A few minutes later, the slug went back into the alien's head and it stood up. < I did not know you had a Kandrona generator on this ship.>   
*We are also Yeerks.*   
< Yeerks? What are Yeerks?>   
*Are you not a Yeerk?*   
< No. I am an Iskoort.>   
*But you just went into the Yeerk Pool.*   
< I am two parts. The Isk, and the Yoort.>   
*So you are a parasite.*   
< No. We have a symbiosis. We are one.> 

__

December 31, Year 299: Base Alpha One-detention cell C-7

_I stared into the night sky, dotted with stars.   
The knife was in my hand. I held it up. It shined in the light.   
Swiftly, I brought it down. I didn't feel the pain.   
I lay on the floor, stretched out. The hilt stuck out of my chest. This is how they would find me in the morning. And they would know. Yes, they would know.   
I could see it through the window. The star my mother had watched while she died.   
And now it was my turn.   
One Animorph had dared to care.   
Another had dared to quit.   
The blood had formed a pool around me. It soaked into my hair.   
I remembered what Jashel had told me. War always started with a good reason, but it always turned into something ugly. This war started with freedom, and we've fought it for three hundred years. Does that mean freedom is evil?   
My mother thought we needed hope. My father thought we needed freedom. And me? What do I think?   
We need peace. That's what we need.   
Peace... _   
__

January 1, Year 300: Iskoort planet

The Bug fighter descended from the sky and landed on a platform.   
The eager natives crowded around, ready to make deals.   
The hatch opened and a Hork-Bajir Controller stepped out.   
One seemingly normal Iskoort hung back.   
He smiled and nodded, satisfied.   
The Ellimist stepped behind a building.   
The day had come. The day he had hoped and waited for. The day he and the Crayax fought so bitterly over. He to preserve it, the Crayax to destroy it.   
It was here. The Yeerks had met the Iskoorts and would discover a new way to live. There would be peace in the galaxy once more.   
300 years after the Animorphs made this day possible, it was becoming reality.   
The Ellimist laughed. 300 years. 300 years of war was finally coming to an end. 

__

January 5, Year 300: Command Headquarters-General Rato's office.

The transmission flashed on the screen.   
"My god." The general closed his eyes. When he opened them, the message was still there.   
General Rato stared. "It's over. It's finally over."   
"What is it?" His second-in-command asked.   
Rato turned the screen so he could see.   
"The War is over." 

****

The End 

  
  
  
  


For those of you who are wondering, I wrote this right after watching _Saving Private Ryan_, soooooo...


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